The Auburn Tigers will spend this weekend away from competition after a five-game stretch that saw them win three games.
The break comes at a great time, giving the Tigers a chance to regroup and get refreshed before resuming their brutal October schedule. Auburn has already faced No. 14 Tennessee, and will pick back up next Saturday at No. 2 Georgia before hosting No. 10 LSU and visiting No. 11 Ole Miss to close the month.
Earlier this week, we examined the top snap-takers from the Auburn offense through five games. Today, we look at the defensive side of the football. According to Pro Football Focus, Auburn's defense has been on the field for 390 plays this season, 28 more than the offense has. A total of 36 players have played at least one
snap on defense this season; four of them have played over 300 snaps, 10 have played over 200 snaps, and 19 have played over 100 snaps.
Here is a look at Auburn's top snap-takers through five games.
It is no surprise that four of Auburn's top defensive players have seen the most action so far. Elijah Melendez, Xavier Atkins, Eric Winters, and Kaleb Harris are in the top five in snaps this season, all registering at least 298 snaps.
The trend regarding cornerbacks is strange. Rayshawn Pleasant has played the most snaps, followed by Andre Jordan Jr. at No. 6 and Champ Anthony at No. 10. The trio has combined to log five pass deflections and two interceptions (both belonging to Jordan) and 34 tackles. In contrast, defensive linemen Dallas Walker IV and Cody Sigler have combined to make 36 tackles while playing fewer snaps than Jordan and Pleasant.
A few players who just missed the top 10 include Sylvester Smith-Reed (185), Bryce Deas (156), Jourdin Crawford (127), and Malik Autry (106). Are there any surprises on the list?
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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Who has played the most for Auburn’s defense through Week 5?
